Luminar shrugs off smoking ban

Britain’s No1 nightclub firm has announced half year pre-tax profits of £12.6 million, a rise of 56%.

Chief executive, Stephen Thomas, said there had been only a marginal impact on sales at the dancing venues following the smoking ban which commenced on 1 July this year.

Luminar said its theme nights for single, divorced and separated people are a success and a real money-spinner. Furthermore, its refurbishment programme helped attract the customers.

Mr Thomas said the objective is to bring single, separated and divorced people together in the same venue at the same time. It is not for them to get drunk or behave badly.

The chief executive added that Fridays were the most popular nights for these events and added licensing deregulation had made Luminar improve, as it faced more competition.

Luminar has 112 venues across the UK but not all have an outdoor smoking area. The shares yesterday closed at 632½p, valuing the company at £390 million.

Luminar has several brands across the country including Lava Ignite, LIFE, Jumpin Jaks, Liquid and Oceana. In addition to operating large brands of nightclubs, Luminar run several independent clubs and bars such as Majestyk in Leeds.

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